Hole in the Rock
The Mormon settlers' route east, across the Colorado River and Plateau
mile 84.4

Looking upstream from part way down the Hole in the Rock route.

June, 1961  Twelve people starting down the Mormon Hole in the Rock route -- their introduction to the sublime, the spectacular, the irreplacable Glen Canyon.  (There was a thirteenth in the party but he had to leave us back at the end of our trip down the Narrows of Zion to take his bar exams in Colorado.  He passed the exams, soon got elected to the state legislature, and later became governor.)
More about this trip HERE and HERE.

June, 1961  Hole in the Rock airstrip.  Two of our twelve are missing, having gotten lost coming out of the Escalante the day before.  One of Page Aviation's planes was patrolling the area with a pilot and a park ranger.  I accompanied them on a search flight.  (The aerial photos taken in 1961 were taken on that flight.)  Here we have just landed after our search.  More about what happened HERE. 

The following year we started chartering that same plane -- and often had the same pilot.
Looking across (north) the Escalante River canyon as we walked back to the cars (parked at the edge of the Hole in the Rock airstrip).  We had spent the entire day exploring -- down to Clear Creek and up to Soda Gulch and Gregory Bridge.  The walk back was very hot, so we waited until just before sunset.  Two of our party veered off to the west, toward Davis Gulch: you can see them walking toward the left edge of the picture.  We had discussed the route back as being toward the high point in our southward path, the little mesa with the airstrip, and being restricted by two nearby parallel slot canyons, Davis Gulch and Clear Creek which are impossible to cross.  And a bit hazardous, especially after dark.  Since there are no habitations within about 60 miles, our lights at the car would be a beacon for anyone who got confused.  The area is quite flat and the airstrip mesa is the predominant landmark.  The two had the only map in our party because I had left it at the gauging station and one of them picked it up for me. 
That day ended curiously.

Keturah maneuvering her kayak down the Hole in the Rock route used by the early Mormons to cross the Colorado.  (They ended up establishing the town of Bluff, Utah.)

Because most of the most spectacular canyons of Glen were between Hole in the Rock and Crossing of the Fathers,  we sometimes chose to put in at Hole in the Rock.

April 1963   Bottom of the settlers' Hole in the Rock route.  Preparing the boats for the trip from here to Crossing of the Fathers.

Decmeber 1962   Same place as above, but now there's frost on everything in the morning..

Go to the settlers' road on the left bank

Go up to Escalante River
Go down to Llewellyn Gulch

Middle Map

Glen Canyon